Convertible sailing vessel



April 1941- W.-G. FLETCHER 2,238,464

CONVERTIBLE SAILING VESSEL Filed Jan. 23, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Nil/lam G.F/e fairer.

, NEY

April 15, 1941. w, FLETCHER 2,238,464

CONVERTIBLE SAILING VESSEL- Filed Jan. 23, 1939 s Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Wl/li am F/efchei:

A ril 15, 1941. w. e. FLETCHER CONVERTIBBE SAILING VESSEL 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 23, 1939 INVENTOR William G. F/efcher Patented Apr. 15, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CONVERTIBLE SAILING VESSEL William G. Fletcher, Bogota, N. J. Application January 23, 1939, Serial No. 252,369 1 Claims.

This invention relates to sailing vessels that are propelled by a sail mounted on a common type of rigging and is light in weight, of shallow draft and is capable of developing high speeds. The invention may be applied to a toy from which the art of sailing can be simulated, or it may be applied to a full sized sailing vessel manned by a crew. An object of the invention is to provide a vessel having a frame on its center line supporting the mast and supporting a front pontoon and a cross frame supporting a pontoon at each end spaced from the center frame; another object of the invention is to provide a sailing vessel supported by three pontoons in triangular formation with the front end of the rear pontoons formed in a water plane; another object of the invention is to provide an adjustable weight for changing the center of gravity of the body of the vessel; another object of the invention is to provide an adjustable weight for the rear of the vessel, operating in cooperation with the steering mechanism; another object of the invention is to provide a spring support between the pontoons and the body of the vessel and another object of the invention is to adjust the vertical angle of the pontoons relative to the body of the vessel.

A further object of the invention is to provide a convertible sailing vessel which may be adapted for sailing on water, for sailing on ice or for sailing on land and another object of the invention is to provide a sailing vessel having three mobile points of support comprising a body which is collapsible and foldable into relatively small space.

These and other objects of the invention will be understood from the following specification and the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the sailing vessel with the triangularly arranged pontoons;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation corresponding to Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of one of the rear pontoons with part of the supporting frame;

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation of the pontoon shown in Fig. 3; taken on line 44;

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the front pontoon and part of the frame or body of the vessel, and

Fig. 6 is a side elevation corresponding to Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the rear of the vessel showing the frame and the adjustable swinging weight;

Fig. 8 is a side elevation on line 88 of Fig. '7;

Fig. 9 is an elevation of the steering mechanism taken on line 9--9 of Fig. '7;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged, fragmentary view, partially sectioned, of means for adjusting the angle of the pontoons relative to the frame;

Fig. 11 is a side view and Fig. 12 is a plan view of part of the frame showing how it may be taken apart and packed into smaller space;

Fig. 13 is an elevation of a vessel corresponding to Fig. 1 but fitted with runners for sailing on ice;

Fig. 14 is a plan view of the attachment of one of the ice runners to the cross frame;

Fig. 15 is an elevation corresponding to Fig. 14; I

Fig. 16 is a plan view of the front of the frame with an ice runner applied thereto, and

Fig. 17 is a side elevation of the front runner corresponding to Fig. 16;

Fig. 18 is an elevation of a sailing vessel corresponding to Fig. 1 but fitted with wheels or rollers for sailing on land;

Fig. 19 is a top plan view of the rear frame with a wheel attached thereto;

Fig. 20 is a side view of one end of the cross frame with the wheel attached thereto;

Fig. 21 is an elevation taken on line 2l2l of Fig. 20;

Fig. 22 is a plan View of a portion of the front frame with a wheel and steering mechanism attached thereto;

Fig. 23 is a side elevation corresponding to 1 Fig. 22;

'I ports.

Fig. 24 is a front elevation taken on line 24-2 l of Fig. 24, and

Fig. 25 is a vertical section through one of the wheels and its support.

In the present invention a frame or body is provided with three mobile points of support and with a mast and sail so that it may be driven by the wind. The body or frame of the vessel is T-shaped, having a main frame on the longitudinal center of the vessel and a transverse frame at the rear. The front point of support is secured to the front end of the main frame and the rear supports are secured one at each end of the transverse frame. A mast is provided near the front end of the frame with a boom to which a sail is secured in the usual manner.

A swinging arm is provided at the rear end of the main frame and is weighted at its outer end. This arm can be swung in either direction to align with the cross frame and to bring the weight into close proximity to the outer supports. The spread of the rear support on the cross frame corresponds to the beam of the vessel and the stability is increased in proportion to the spread of these sup- In addition to this the stability of the vessel is regulated by moving the weighted arm so that in rounding a curve or in opposing the wind in tacking this weight increases the stability of the vessel and opposes the overturning effect from the sail.

This construction enables a vessel of shallow draft to carry a fairly large sail and to develop high speed and in order to increase the speed characteristics of the vessel the frame and the supporting members are made as light as possible and when sailing on the water the pontoons are shaped like a water plane so that when running at speed they skim over the surface. Under certain conditions when tacking or when the water surface is rough, it may be desirable to adjust the angle of the pontoons relativeto the frame, a screw adjustment is provided for this purpose and on large outfits this adjustment may be made by the crew while sailing.

The riding qualities of the vessel is materially improved especially on rough water when the front pontoon is secured to the frame by a spring mounting which acts in the capacity of a shock absorber. In the larger models the frame is constructed in sections so that it can readily be taken apart, the pontoons can be removed and the mast can be reduced to sections so that the outfit may be brought within a clearance of eight or ten feet for transportation.

In the drawings, II is the front pontoon and I2 and I 3 are the rear pontoons, I4 is the main frame which is supported at the front end by the pontoon II and is supported at the rear end by the transverse frame 21, one end of which is supported by the pontoon l2 and the opposite end is supported by the pontoon l3. These pontoons may be braced to the main frame l4 as indicated by the cables 23 and 24. The operator may occupy the seat l6 at the rear where he can manipulate the rudder lever 40 and the capstan 48. A swinging arm I! is pivotally secured to the rear of the main frame 14 and is provided with a weight I 8, which weight may take the form of a member of the crewoccupying the seat [8. The arm I! is connected by the cables and 26 with the cross frame 21 so that its position can be adjusted from the frame 21.

A bowsprit I9 is secured to the front of frame [4 and the mast 20 is raised from this end of the frame and in rear of the front pontoon II. A boom 2| is secured to the mast 20 and is laced by the cable 28 to the frame 21 so that it may be braced in any position desired. The sail 22 is a typical form of a variety of sails that may be applied to this construction. The shallow keel is provided at 43 and the rudder 42, through the rudder post 4|, connects with 40.

The construction in Figs. 3 and 4 shows the rear pontoon I3 secured by the hinge 33 to the cross frame 27 and adjusted by the screw adjustment 35, Fig. 10, which connects to the supporting member 38 of the pontoon through a ball and socket connection at 31 and connects by the pivotal screw socket 36 to the member 34, secured to frame 21. This screw adjustment enables the angle of the pontoon to be varied as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 4. The rear pontoons are streamlined at b as indicated in Fig. 3 and the tapering end of the pontoon points away from the direction of sailing. The front end of each rear pontoon is broad, being substantially the width of the pontoon and tapers on an incline plane as indicated at a so that it tends to plane on the surface of the water.

If the pontoons tend to submerge instead of planing on the surface the vertical angle of the pontoon relative to the frame is adjusted by the screw 35. The pontoons are applied to form a Water plane in the direction of sailing.

The front pontoon ll, Figs. 5 and 6, is secured to the frame [4 by a pair of springs 3| which have sufiicient resiliency to absorb shocks incidental to an irregular sailing surface. The front pontoon is pointed at the front and is wide at the rear end and the vertical angle is adjusted by the screw 32 as indicated by the dotted outline in Fig. 6, corresponding with the adjustment of the rear pontoons.

The weighted arm I1 may be rigidly mounted on the steering post 4| so that as the steering lever 45 is operated the weighted arm is swung therewith. This arm may also be operated by the quadrant 44, secured thereto, and having the cable 45 extending therefrom over the pulley 46 and the drum 4'1 operated by the capstan wheel 48. This enables the arm [1 to be swung in either direction.

The main frame 14 comprises a pair of spaced members which may be connected by sheet material or by lattice construction. A splice is shown at 5|, Figs. 11 and 12, for this frame in which an angular plate, having a projecting rib is bolted to the abutting ends of the frame to hold these ends in alignment and to give rigidity to the structure. A splice of this type may be used on the middle of the main frame as shown in Fig. 2 and it may be used on the middle of the cross frame. When these parts are disassembled they correspond somewhat is length with the pontoons and with the bowsprit, thus facilitating the shipment of the structure.

The vessel is converted from the water type to sail on ice by substituting ice runners for the pontoons, the attachment of the runners to the frame corresponding with the attachment of the pontoons to the frame. The runners are shown at and 56 in Fig. 13 and the atachment to the cross frame of the rear runners is shown in Figs. 14 and 15. Instead of steering by a rudder, the steering in this case is obtained by directing the front runner 55, which is pivotally mounted at 58 on the cross bar 59, secured to the frame I 4, Fig. 17. A horizontal steering bar 51 is provided in the runner 55 and is connected by the cables 49, 49' which pass over a pulley 5H and engages the drum 4'! operated by the capstan 48.

When the vessel is to operate on land, wheels are substituted for the pontoons, as indicated at El and 62 in Fig. 18. The wheel 65 is mounted in the jaw 64, adjustably clamped to bracket 63, secured to the cross frame 21. The adjustment of bracket 64 at each end of frame 2'! enables this cross frame to be inclined as desired.

The steering arrangement is obtained by deflecting the front wheel through the mechanism shown in Figs. 22, 23 and 24. The wheel BI is supported by the crown 66 which is pivotally mounted on the bridge piece 68, connected to the frame members l4. The horizontal steering rod 51 turns the crown member 66 in response to the cables 49, 49, to direct the course of the vessel as desired.

The wheels are preferably constructed as shown in section in Fig. 25 from a pair of plates of sheet metal 10 which are formed with a groove to receive the rubber tire l2 and are spread at the center to receive the bearing pin H which pivotally secures the wheel in the jaw 64.

When the device is operated as a toy the weighted arm I! and the steering mechanism has to be adjusted at starting and when conditions require, weights may be applied to either of the rear pontoons by loading them with washers or other objects contributing to the weight. The invention may be applied with the movement of the boom 2! coupled with the arm I! so that this arm will be swung to oppose the overturning effect of the sail as the boom swings into its extreme position. If the vessel is intended to operate under some unbalanced conditions then the frame I4 may be moved away from the center of frame 21 to an extent that will compensate for the unbalanced condition.

The details of the invention may be applied in a variety of forms other than those illustrated to meet the conditions at. hand.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A sailing vessel having a frame with a mast and a sail thereon, a streamlined pontoon mounted at the front in the centre of said frame and a pair of rear pontoons mounted on said frame and spaced from the centre of said frame, said rear pontoons being streamlined having a pointed end at the rear and being substantially Wider than they are deep and having a wide, horizontal end towards the direction of movement, said wide end being inclined upwardly to form a Water plane.

2. A sailing vessel having a frame with a mast and a sail thereon, said frame having a mobile point of support at the front end and having a pair of mobile supports spaced from the centre of the frame at the rear, an adjustable Weight mounted on said frame, and means for steering said vessel and means coupled with said steering means for adjusting said weight to resist the overturning effect from the sail.

3. A sailing vessel having a frame with a mast and a sail thereon, said frame having a mobile point of support at the front end and having a pair of mobile supports spaced from the centre of the frame at the rear, a rudder, a steering mechanism for said rudder, a weighted arm pivoted to the centre of said frame at the rear and means interconnecting the steering mechanism and the arm for shifting said arm to change the centre of gravity of said vessel by said steering mechanism.

4. A sailing vessel having a frame with a mast and sail thereon, said frame having a mobile point of support at the front end and having a pair of mobile supports spaced from the centre of said frame at the rear, a weighted arm 'pivoted to said frame at the rear and projecting from the frame, a rudder including a tiller, a steering mechanism operated by said tiller and means connected with said steering mechanism for cooperatively operating said weighted arm I with said rudder. 

